Aussie reverses course and falls on housing finance, yen weaker

Тhe Australian dollar reversed course in Asia Wednesday on weaker than expected data on housing finance, with the yen also easing on continued U.S. dollar strength.

In Australia, the March Westpac-MI Consumer Sentiment index fell 1.2% to 99.5, somewhat expected after the strong rise in February that took the index to the highest level in more than a year.

January housing finance data showed a drop of 3.5%, nore than the expected 2.0% month-on-month fall after a 2.7% rise the month before.

In Japan, January machinery orders and February CGPI data were released. Core machinery orders fell 1.7% month-on-month, compared to an expected drop of 4.1%. CPGI rose 0.5% year-on-year in February matching expectations.

Later, China reports January-February industrial output, investment and retail sales

Overnight, the dollar remained broadly higher against a basket of other major currencies on Monday, trading at a 11-1/2 year peak as expectations for a near-term U.S. rate hike continued to lend broad support to the greenback.

The euro came under pressure after the European Central Bank started asset purchases on Monday, pushing euro area bond yields to new lows.